You say carbonara and your mouth’s already watering. You picture Rome, a fork swirling through golden pasta, the scent of guanciale wrapping around every sense. But what most people don’t know is that this legendary dish has had a career beyond the kitchen: it’s been on film sets, made people laugh, even touched hearts… it even ended up in bed with Meryl Streep (true story).
Because carbonara isn’t just a dish. It’s a member of the family. A comfort food with main-character energy—taking center stage in cult films, made-up recipes, and pure Roman spirit.
So today, we’re taking you on a ride through cinema, spaghetti and smiles: from Totò to Verdone, a few American detours, until the moment when the clapperboard turns into “ciak, let’s eat!”
Spoiler: by the end, you’ll be craving it. But don’t worry—we know just the place.
The first take? Totò and De Filippo
It was 1949, and carbonara already made it into the script of Yvonne la Nuit. Totò and Eduardo De Filippo sit at a restaurant table and order “oxtail stew for two and spaghetti carbonara for three.” Just a line, but one that shows how famous our yolk-and-guanciale queen already was in postwar Rome.
Un americano a Toma (1954): “macaroni, you provoked me!”
If you’ve never mimicked Alberto Sordi yelling at his pasta, you’ve missed a slice of Italian culture. In Un americano a Roma, Nando Mericoni rejects American food and dives into a plate of spaghetti (they’re not named, but it smells like carbonara). His outburst became legendary: “Maccarone, m’hai provocato e io te distruggo!” (Macaroni, you provoked me and I’ll destroy you!). Forget the Oscars.
La carbonara (2000): patriots, pasta, and revolution
Director Luigi Magni gave us a gem: La Carbonara, set in 19th-century Rome during the revolutionary uprisings. The lead, Cecilia, is a fearless innkeeper who feeds carbonara to the patriots—“carbonari.” A pun that becomes a political manifesto. Because yes, even pasta can start a revolution.
Sora Lella, Verdone, and grandma’s carbonara
Think Carlo Verdone, and you think Sora Lella. Big Roman tables, full of warmth, laughter, and—obviously—carbonara. In Bianco, Rosso e Verdone (1981), you don’t actually see it, but you can feel it. It’s there, between a joke and a hug, symbolizing family, love, and true Roman spirit.
And Verdone himself once confessed in an interview: a plate of carbonara lifted him out of heartbreak. Better than therapy.
Heartburn (1986): carbonara in bed with meryl streep
Let’s cross over to international cinema. In Heartburn, Meryl Streep whips up a carbonara after a night of passion and brings it to bed for Jack Nicholson. A scene that screams comfort food with love. Forget pancakes—when it comes to romance, nothing beats a steaming plate of carbonara
Carebonara (2021): a tasty origin story
Some even imagined its origins in a short film. CareBonara, directed by Xavier Mairesse, tells the tale of a meeting between an Italian cook and an American soldier during the liberation of Rome in 1944. Eggs, bacon, spaghetti… and voilà, the first carbonara in history. A delicious fable that feels kind of true.
Carbonara day: the social media takeover
Since 2017, there’s even been a Carbonara Day, every April 6. A day packed with photos, videos, reels, and recipes (some more accurate than others), celebrating the world’s most imitated—and debated—Roman dish. And between arguments over cream or no cream (spoiler: NO), carbonara still rules. Even on Instagram.
And if you want the real deal… come to velavevodetto
Feeling the craving by now? Totally normal.
But instead of drooling in front of your screen, come enjoy it where carbonara takes the spotlight every single day.
At our Velavevodetto restaurants in Rome (Testaccio and Prati) and Milan (Duomo and Porta Venezia), we serve carbonara the way it’s meant to be: creamy, bold, Roman to the core. Just how Sora Lella would want it—with Flavio’s unforgettable twist.
